Overseas Letter

Cat. No. 424

Overseas Letter

State/Variant:
Only state
Date:
1943-1945
Alternate Title:
Mother and Two Children; 63 Park
Themes
Architecture, Figures, Objects
Techniques
Lithography
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
composition: 6 9/16 x 9 3/4" (16.6 x 24.7 cm); sheet: 9 5/16 x 13" (23.7 x 33 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher
Louise Bourgeois
Printer
The Art Students League of New York
Edition:
8 known impressions of only state
Edition Information:
There are 8 known impressions of the only state.

Another known impression is in MoMA's Collection (Accession Number: 129.1990) and is inscribed "4/25." It is more lightly inked and is not reproduced due to its similiarity to the impression seen here.
Impression:
Not numbered
Background:
When Bourgeois arrived in New York City in October 1938, she moved into her husband Robert Goldwater's apartment at 63 Park Avenue. She lived there until September 1939, and then moved to 333 East 41st Street, which served as the couple's home and the artist's studio.

American painter and printmaker, Will Barnet (1911-2012) was the master printer at The Art Students League and printed Bourgeois's lithographs.
Curatorial Remarks:
A known related drawing for this work was not available for reproduction. It can, however, be viewed on microfilm at the Archives of American Art, reel 90, frame 28.
Former Cat. No.:
W & S 15
Description:
Lithograph
Inscription:
The alternate titles "Mother and Two Children" and "63 Park" derive from an inscription on an impression of the only state not in MoMA's Collection and not included in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.
Artist’s Remarks:
Of her earlier prints depicting interiors and daily situations, Bourgeois said: "It is always the same subject. I am waiting and listening. It is as if a metronome is ticking." (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 52.)
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
241.1992
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Overseas Letter

1943-1945

States
Overseas Letter

Related Works in the Catalogue

Youth
Man Reading
Composition

Related Works in Other Mediums

Woman Thinking (verso)
Les Cheveux
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled (verso)